Blueberries and Biochemistry, Under Construction

Happy 2017 Everyone! I am excited to announce that Blueberries and Biochemistry is under construction!

You may have noticed a significant lack of articles since last December. The reason for this is a combination of the busy holiday season and research dead-ends. Since writing the article regarding the health benefits of pumpkin, I have started researching many other topics including vitamin C, beta-carotene, and blueberries. I was surprised to find the same health benefit undertones within each of these nutrients that I found within chia seeds, fiber, cranberries, and pumpkin. The research surrounding these articles all focus on the nutrients:

ability to prevent cancer development

ability to prevent the development of heart disease

ability to prevent the development of diabetes

their antioxidant properties

This is not to say that these nutrients do not have other health benefits, I am confident they do. It is just a matter of how well these other areas are researched. In the United States, research funding is allotted based on severity of disease and how big of an economic impact that disease makes on our population. Cancer, heart disease, and diabetics are huge health concerns and are often linked to our poor diet. Therefore, as I was researching the specific mechanisms by which these health benefiting foods helped us, the research that had been done on these nutrients was all in relation to how these nutrients can help in our fight against the development and aid in the treatment of these significant diseases.

As much as it disappointments me, I realized that if I continue along this path, all of my articles will end up sounding very redundant. For example, had I written the article on beta-carotene it would have referenced its antioxidant properties and how these properties aid in the prevention of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes because that is what has been the focus of the research surrounding this nutrient. See what I mean about redundancy? Until we can take a less disease reactive approach with our research and refocus on the nutrients themselves and how they interact with our bodies to keep us healthy and happy, there is not enough material to keep Blueberries and Biochemistry going in this same direction. Don’t cry, I know! I am sad too!

With this said, I have made the executive decision to change to the types of posts you will see. The posts will remain health focused, however they will address exciting medical topics currently under investigation. For example, this week an article regarding the emergence of targeted therapy for cancer treatment will be posted. This article focuses on how cancer research is no longer taking a global approach to cancer treatment, rather we are focused on discovering therapeutics specific to the individual’s cancer needs. I feel by broadening my article base I will be able to provide you more interesting articles to read and not sound redundant.

There is so much to learn about health and how we treat disease. I hope you will stick with me and give it a shot!